The present invention generally relates to devices for purifying the water in a toilet tank, and more specifically, to such devices which do not contribute to the corrosion of a toilet's plumbing fixtures.
Toilets generally include a water filled bowl portion and a tank portion which acts as a reservoir for the bowl portion, and from which water is supplied to the bowl each time it is flushed. The tank includes a fill tube through which fresh water enters the tank, and an overflow tube through which water exits the tank and flows into the bowl. While fresh water is added to the tank each time a toilet is flushed, due in part to environmental factors, in between uses the water becomes somewhat contaminated and odorous. Moreover, as this water moves from the tank to the bowl, germs become built up on the bowl's surfaces and the bowl's surfaces become stained, among other things.
In order to remedy these unpleasantries and improve the sanitary conditions of the toilet, various types of sanitizing additives and apparatus were developed. A common sanitizing agent is detergent, such as chlorine, compacted into a disk which may be placed in the tank. The detergent slowly dissolves as it cleanses the water. While the sanitizing disks do effectively clean the water, their chemicals also degrade and corrode the various plumbing fixtures present in a tank, such as the flapper valve, ballcock, fill tube and overflow tube.
To prevent degradation of the fixtures, housings were developed to contain the sanitizing disks. These housings were generally positioned in line between the fill and overflow tubes in order to ensure that water leaving the tank and entering the bowl would first pass over the sanitizing disk. Various arrangements of these housings can be readily seen and studied in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,570,934 to Foster; 3,290,698 to Jayner et al; and 3,311,931 to Kristensen et al.
It is a primary object and advantage of the present invention to provide a new and improved housing for a toilet sanitizing disk that effectively prohibits degradation of a toilet's plumbing fixtures.
It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide a housing for a toilet sanitizing disk that is easily installable on existing toilets.
It is a further object and advantage of the present invention to provide a housing for a toilet sanitizing disk, wherein disks may be replaced in the housing as needed.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will in part be obvious, and in part appear hereinafter.